Nitrogen For Your Tires

[SW03ES]

But again, whens the last time you heard of someone's wheels rusting off because they had been corroded by the air in the tires? Never.

Its used in all plane applications because the temperature shifts on aircraft tires are so great.

[SKperformance]

Actually you do hear of corrosion on rims alot. The wheels won't rust off but will have a reaction.

It is usually along the bead lip where the only actual heat from friction is created to cause a catalyst reaction when combined.

[bartkat]

Nitrogen won't support moisture. It's moisture and some of tha amonia chemicals in rubber that can degrade the cord fibers. Also the Firestone 500 major recall was due to moisture wicking to the steel belts, leading to corrosion, which led to a breakdown of adhesion and catastrophic failures.

[Guest snugglebunnies]

What did we do before cell phones and Nitrogen came along?

Now that's progress...

[steviej]

What did we do before cell phones and Nitrogen came along?

Now that's progress...

we got free air at the fillin' station and dropped a dime in a pay phone.

steviej

[SKperformance]

I still get the nitrogen for free , i just go to Costco with eh tires unmounted and they are happy to do them for me.

[Benjamin Tang]

you are in ontario? i guess costco is not the same here as it is where you are... over here they would only do nitrogen for customers who bought and installed tires from them :(

wow you run 50psi in your 20's?!!? i'm running 40psi and some shops told me i'm asking for trouble (overinflated)...

how is your pressure drops so far? i tend to lose as much as 5-7psi in a summer month... it's getting worse with the cold weather that's coming though

[Ronalder]

The molecule thing, yes! the rest :chairshot:

[VBdenny]

I noticed quite a few green valve caps around on cars lately. Do the green caps indicate that the tires are nitrogen filled?

[SW03ES]

Typically yeah

[SKperformance]

Green caps are form nitrogen filling stations.

If i use air i notice pressure changes like i did on my drive to Orlando and Atlanta in the 2 tires that had air but the 2 that used nitrogen did not have any change in temp or pressure . I do not lose any air in my nitrogen wheels and only a small amount through the air filled ones.

Running a 20 inch rim needs a larger psi. The over inflation thing is from shadetrees who have no clue what they are talking about.

A higher pressure increases the resistance to potholes on the sidewalls preventing bending the wheels.

To prove the fact i went to Toyo tires seminar and they actually have a program that will give you your new tire pressures for the new size wheels generated exactly for the car in question. Mine i supposed to be 44psi .

[VBdenny]

The 44lbs may prevent damage from potholes and such but it sure didn't slow down that driveshaft much huh?

I run 35lbs in mine but they are stock.

[LDR430]

Either I haven't been paying attention to the scene, or this hasn't hit So Cal yet. I'll have to try it out & spread the word. :)

[handygal]

Who has their tires on long enough to see major corrosion? Even the ones I had on for three years didn't show much of anything except maybe the slightest shadow where the tire bead touched.

At least no one said "rust". If the wheels are rusting on your Lexus, you made a major mistake that no amount of nitrogen can help. :D

[Benjamin Tang]

Who has their tires on long enough to see major corrosion? Even the ones I had on for three years didn't show much of anything except maybe the slightest shadow where the tire bead touched.

At least no one said "rust". If the wheels are rusting on your Lexus, you made a major mistake that no amount of nitrogen can help. :D

my uncle had problems with rust on his steel winter wheels for his RX. he kept losing pressure in one tire bceause the bead wouldn't seal to the rim because of all the corrosion... the rust was actually weeping out from under the lip and causing his tires to turn brown :(

[SW03ES]

Who has their tires on long enough to see major corrosion? Even the ones I had on for three years didn't show much of anything except maybe the slightest shadow where the tire bead touched.

At least no one said "rust". If the wheels are rusting on your Lexus, you made a major mistake that no amount of nitrogen can help. :D

Lexus vehicles have alluminum wheels, they CAN'T rust. Steel wheels can...

[handygal]

Who has their tires on long enough to see major corrosion? Even the ones I had on for three years didn't show much of anything except maybe the slightest shadow where the tire bead touched.

At least no one said "rust". If the wheels are rusting on your Lexus, you made a major mistake that no amount of nitrogen can help. :D

Lexus vehicles have alluminum wheels, they CAN'T rust. Steel wheels can...

Exactly.

Steel wheels for winter tires. Yikes. I know plenty of people buy cheap wheels for their winter tires to save on mounting/dismounting them. But steel on a Lexus? Ouch, not looking to preserve any of the Lexus ride. And to find steel wheels these days that fit. Now that's a hunt.

I was joking when I made the rust comment, I didn't think anyone would actually put steel on any car these days, not unless it was something they had left from the 80's (if they are rusting that much, maybe they are from the 80's). Just don't tell me they are 15". Or white "wagon" wheels. Or Chrome Mods. Or *gasp* gold ones! Oh my goodness, I'm back in the 80's, working at the wheel store. Flashback.

[SW03ES]

Lots of cars still have steel wheels, anything with hubcaps, downtrim CR-V's, Rav4s, etc

[mannye]

I think this is just a mental thing. There have been no quantitive differences found in the performance of a vehicle in any way due to nitrogen being put in the tires.

I have Nitrogen in mine from Costco, rides the same as other ES' I've driven. I think its just a gimmick.

The density of nitrogen compared to oxygen makes the difference. No gimmick.

SK, What facts made you decide to change to nitrogen ?

Hey welcome back DC!!! :D :D :D :D

I don't know but this looks like it will save some money!!!

http://www.getnitrogen.org/sub.php?view=cheaper

If I didn't think nitrogen was a gimmick before I read this, I am sure of it now. Just replace "nitrogen" with "properly inflated" and you get the same result. Do the bigger nitrogen molecules take longer to escape the tire? Yes. But you still have to monitor tire pressure, and you still have to refill it once in a while to keep proper pressure.. JUST LIKE AIR. Except with nitrogen, now I have to go to a special place to get my tire inflated insteadof just pulling over to the first place I see. Maybe now I don't have time,,,maybe I'll go tomorrow...oops no time again...one more day ... Now what happened to my 3.3% better milage and tire life?

Oh and that stuff about being less damaging to the inside of the tire? When is the lat time your tires dry-rotted or "wore out from the inside" before the TREAD did? This might make sense for a million dollar 'Cuda riding on 2 thousand dollar NOS Polyglass radials that sits for years, but not for a daily driver.

Bah... pass the foot pump.

[RX in NC]

You're right on target. It's yet another gimmick. Air is so much easier and available, and I check my tire pressures every weekend anyway. I'll stick with good ol' air, too....

[Benjamin Tang]

Lexus vehicles have alluminum wheels, they CAN'T rust. Steel wheels can...

now that i'm thinking about it, didn't the base model gs300 from the 2nd generation had 16" steel wheels with plastic covers standard?

[SW03ES]

No, no Lexus has EVER had steel wheels with hubcaps.

RX, If its good enough to breathe, its good enough to fill my tires ;)

[hardhat]

I will tell you one thing. I just bought a 2000 LS400 and it has nitrogen in the tires and that thing averaged 28.3 mpg on a 400 mile interstate trip with a couple of some driving around in memphis (go to a mall) and in Jackson, MS (to eat and mail a package). I thought the nitrogen was BS (and still do). However, my wife informed me that the car got unexpectedly impressive fuel economy and it does have nitrogen in the tires. So consideration was given to buying a $999 nitrogen generator from harbor freight :chairshot:

After sleeping on it however, nitrogen in tires is just like those additives people put in their cars. It is snake oil. Makes impressive claims but no conclusive evidence showing any real world benefit. When the time comes to fill them back up, air is going in them unless the place I get the tires puts N2 in there for free.

FWIW, on the topic of snake oil.... My 94 LS400 was leaking coolant (adding a pint to quart a day) and I found a leak on the driver side but couldn't tell where it was coming from (drip every second or so; also had bubbles in coolant recovery tank and was worried about a blown headgasket). I put some Bar's leak from Wal-Mart in there (oily stuff with chunks and pellets in it). The leak totally stopped and the bubbles stopped. Car drove fine to Memphis without adding any coolant.

[Gryphon]

I tried nitrogen, added for free at Costco, in two RX400h's and a Porsche 968, and monitored the cold pressures closely. In all three vehicles (12 tires), I lost about 4 psi in about 2 months. I found this unacceptable. I couldn't adjust pressures in my garage and didn't want to make monthly trips to Costco so I dumped the nitrogen and went back to good old air.

Tom

[mkeeney]

I'm an engineer in the tire industry. I've worked for a major passenger tire manufacturer and now work in off-road tires. I can assure everyone that using nitrogen in passenger tires is completely a gimmick. As others pointed out, the reason it is used in racing, aircraft, and large excavators is that the membrane process of removing the water vapor from the air also removes the oxygen, leaving only nitrogen. You are far better off to regularly check your air pressure than to think about replacing your air with nitrogen. As for your car riding or driving better with nitrogen in the tires, my car is always a little peppier after I've washed it. It's purely psychological.